Looking across the landscape of contemporary culture

Best worship songs

Three of my favourite contemporary worship songs are ‘Hosanna (Praise is Rising)’, ‘Everlasting God’, and ‘Lord, Reign in Me’. I had no idea who wrote them, or whether they had any connection, but they kept turning up whenever I was at a youth retreat or charismatic prayer group.

A friend recommended Brenton Brown’s CD Everlasting God, which I’ve been listening to in the car for the last week. It’s great to discover that all three songs are by him and on the same album, and that his ‘versions’ (the originals) are fantastic – especially the title track, which is done at half the speed I’m used to.

I know quite a few priests who minister heroically at various youth events, pouring their pastoral energies out, with a real heart for young people – but they hate the music! For them it’s simply one long penance. Thank goodness I look forward to it.

You can listen to ‘Everlasting God’ here (sorry about the cheesy slides – but this is the best version I can find on YouTube).

Hello Father Stephen. Thank goodness there are Priests who, like you, like contemporary worship music! I am a youth of 50 and there are some contemporary tracks I love, some I don’t; a bit like any genre of music.
I have always believed that Masses where this type of music is played might attract younger worshippers, as well as the younger at heart (like me). After all, we only have to look to the ‘newer’ Churches and especially the non-denominational ones who use this genre of music to very good effect.
I fondly recall, as an Anglican, going to Mass with a friend 30 years ago. It was a ‘Folk’ Mass with newer songs accompanied by guitars, flute and even a violin. This certainly had a positive effect on me as here I am, 29 years after reception into the Church.

Oh my gosh once you start looking there’s some wonderful contemporary things out there I especially like this as it incorporates my Love of Dance.

I think what’s important is that contemporary ‘Christian or pop music’ shouldn’t just stop at ‘nice’ as if it were to be the soundtrack to a family movie, or when it begins to get funky or risqué, because this is often where we loose modern youth to worship through music.

The power of the soul transcending to worship through music is so prayerful and deep that often safe music doesn’t reach youth culture unless your already socializing in Christian circles or festivals. I am positive that Florence has reached so many secular peoples some without them even realizing it.

I fully agree with St John Smythe. I too find “How Lovely on the Mountains” a wonderfully uplifting hymn. It is so evocative of the 1982 Papal Visit. I never hear it without memories of that fantastic visit coming rushing to my mind.

No offense was intended by using the provocative Florence video. I had a choice to use other ones but interestingly and intentionally used this one as it was the most popular viewed clip on you-tube, almost 7 million hits. And represents what youth are tuned in to. For many people worship at a Catholic Mass remains undiscovered.

I also agree that most of my chosen songs were not suitable to be sung at a Sacred Catholic Mass, but that in secular popular culture today whether we like it or not these artists are out there uniquely presenting their genre and reaching the youth in their masses, and I just love it when ironically regardless of the ‘popular’ presentation, the words of these songs actually have a element of worship that recognises the Devine and influences the secular mind on a deeper level. Long after the video has been forgotten, the words will still hold true.

When we hear this song playing on the radio we dont associate it with Florence strutting her stuff, but rather with the promise that God’s daily Love is the only Love that we can rely upon.

Lyrics.

Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air
I know I can count on you
Sometimes I feel like saying “Lord I just don’t care”
But you’ve got the love I need To see me through

Sometimes it seems that the going is just too rough
And things go wrong no matter what I do
Now and then it seems that life is just too much
But you’ve got the love I need to see me through

When food is gone you are my daily meal
When friends are gone I know my savior’s love is real
You Know it’s real

You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love

Time after time I think “Oh Lord what’s the use?”
Time after time I think it’s just no good
Sooner or later in life, the things you love you lose
But you got the love I need to see me through

Sorry Father, but I cannot abide the term ‘worship songs.’ Whatever happened to ‘hymns?’

After having endured years of ‘worship songs’ including the dreadful ‘clapping Gloria’, one Sunday I attended Mass in a different parish where for the first time in over 30 years I was able to sing the ‘Kyrie’, the ‘Gloria’, the ‘Sanctus’ and the ‘Agnus Dei’ – all from the Missa de Angelis. It was a Novus Ordo but Oh!what a difference. I came out walking on air. The dignity of the Mass had been restored there.

My adult children were brought up with the worship songs, guitars and Folk Masses and sadly never had the opportunity of hearing the beauty of Gregorian Chant. They long ago stopped attending Mass. My grandchildren likewise. The Church has lost two generations of my family due partly to trying to be ‘with it’ for the kids.

I agree with the commenter above who quotes ‘Rock music is good for a picnic but not for Mass’.

Thanks Perotin for this link. There are some interesting comments on it too. It seems strange to me that there is a whole new vocabulary for younger Catholics. We now have ‘worship songs’ instead of hymns; ‘worship space’ instead of ‘Sanctuary’ and ‘worship services’ instead of Mass, Benediction, Adoration etc. It is almost as if people are nervous and ashamed of using the correct words.

I still say ‘going to Mass’ whereas I have Catholic friends of even my generation who now say ‘going to church’ and ‘in church’ instead of ‘at Mass.’ I was received into the Church many years ago and easily adopted the vocabulary of the time which became second nature to me. I cannot bring myself to adopt the protestantized vocabulary which seems to be in use today.

About this blog

Looking across the landscape of contemporary culture - at the arts, science, religion, politics, philosophy; sorting through the jumble; seeing what stands out, what unsettles, what intrigues, what connects, what sheds light. Father Stephen Wang is a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Westminster, London. He is currently Senior University Chaplain, based at Newman House Catholic Chaplaincy. [Banner photo with kind permission of Matthew Powell]

Email Subscription

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Images Policy

As far as I know none of the image use in this blog is against copyright law. Images copied here are either (i) my own or (ii) out of copyright or (iii) used under a Creative Commons License [CCL], which means (roughly, usually) that the photographer (or copyright owner) has agreed the unedited image can be used non-commercially with proper attribution. If I mark an image as CCL it means that I have used the image under a CCL; it does not mean that I am now licensing this image with a CCL.